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Finally got around to seeing Chuck , went from episode one to the season three finale so far. I really liked it, but probably would have liked it a whole lot less having to watch it week to week. It was all the "will they? won't they?" stuff and "X is actually a spy" getting too tedious. It bottomed out around mid-season 2 for me with the whole Jill arc and then again in season 3 with the Prague stuff feeling so manufactured. I'm glad I stuck around though, because the peaks of the show had incredible payoff the last few episodes of season 2 were golden, especially Chevy and Bakula, and then almost every season 3 episode after the red test was great. The show is incredibly versitile at pulling off great comedy, drama, and action that it really jumps around in a good way. Although, I prefer the comedic aspects most because sometimes the drama feels forced and the action style is a little too McG. That specific interaction of the three elements is best summed in the episode with the Sopranos cameos. Over all my favorite episode was probably the Missile Command 2 episode with Jeff. Everything about it was perfect, especially Rush being mathematically the music of the Universe.
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Jan 13, 2011 17:42
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A Violence Gang posted:I also think you're perfectly justified in bailing on Weeds after season 2 or 3, but that's more debatable. Yep. I already went into Weeds with lower standards than I usually hold my shows up to which allowed me to enjoy a whole lot of the first two seasons because the really good parts (anything Kevin Nealon did) almost entirely offset the bad (anything the lead actress did). Around midway though season 2 the ratio of good to bad changed and made me actually ask that question about bailing. After a few opinions and spoilers for the next two seasons, I finished up season two and never looked back. Despite having enjoyed it at one point, it was clear the show was going places I didn't particularly care about. So bailing was the definitely the right idea when there were other shows I wanted to use my time to catch up with instead.
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Feb 13, 2011 23:39
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Been making my way though Fringe and I don't not like it. Don't not like it at all. Seems to be getting better with every episode, aside from that a dead character showing up in an episode. It would have thrown me for more of a loop if I didn't know this was a FOX show where there was 0% chance of having episodes aired in order. Sometimes I have to just roll my eyes at stuff, but that's part of the fun. For a super picky example that has no impact on the show, the episode I'm watching has Lt. Daniel filling a building with fentanyl gas to knock out a room full of people, which is bat poo poo insane. Fentanyl is an insanely powerful respiratory depressant measured in micrograms. There's no way they could use it to knock out a room of differently sized and medicated people without the dosage being simultaneously too low to knock out everyone and too high to keep everyone alive. I'm thinking it's just a lazy mistake, so I look it up and it turns out that it actually has been used in similar circumstances like the Moscow Theater Terrorist Attack . I guess the writers did do the research... but then I kept reading, and it actually killed around 117 hostages. So uh... vindication. Yeah. Go me. EvilTobaccoExec fucked around with this message at 20:25 on Jul 31, 2011 |
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Jul 31, 2011 20:21
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nixar55 posted:I've got four episodes left of the fourth season of Breaking Bad. Kinda don't want to finish because then I'll have long months without new episodes and that sucks. Jingleheimer posted:This is exactly why I haven't finished the fourth season yet. I have like three or four episodes left and I think I'm just going to watch one every couple of months till I'm caught up. At least that's what I'd like to do, but knowing me I'll probably watch one episode then immediately watch the rest without stopping. Sooner is better than later. You're both lucky you don't read the Dexter thread. Only a few days ago some incompetent d-bag spoiled the end of season four then refused to edit his post when called out on it because it aired weeks ago.
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Nov 2, 2011 09:08
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bobkatt013 posted:Oh okay I just saw some freaked out about that spoiler. Yeah that guy was just doing it to be cute. Some "oh 3 weeks is too soon? well lemme spoil something from two years ago and see if that's different" thing. People love to buck about spoiler tags, thinking its about arbitrary rules or timing, never realizing it's really just about courtesy. If there's one thing everyone in this thread can appreciate, it's how people may want to check out old shows that slipped past their radar with fresh eyes. A person current on Dexter but only starting season X of Breaking Bad goes into the Dexter thread and gets dicked the same because someone else is too lazy or just doesn't give a gently caress about other people's experience. Such weaksauce. If I like something, I want others to get the same chance I had to see it's full glory.
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Nov 3, 2011 02:08
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Dr. Video Games 0055 posted:Anyways, to contribute. With the Oz megathread from last summer pretty much dead and buried I guess I'll mention I finished the second season just yesterday. You know how with most shows as old as Oz most people say they are pretty tame compared to today's standards? This is not the case with Oz. This show is one of the most brutal, grim and bleak shows I've ever seen and I can only imagine what people thought in 1997. The scene where the pedophiliac priest literally gets crucified to the gym floor by the Aryans from the Season 2 finale gave me a nightmare that night. Spoilered that one because this is a thread for people who are looking to get into shows and experiencing them for the first time. Here's a link to the thread anyway, just out of my hope to snare another viewer into the show. http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3413519&highlight= If you guys haven't seen or heard of OZ, read my OP, I think I make a pretty convincing case for it. Easily available on HBO GO.
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Nov 19, 2011 04:33
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pigdog posted:Finished Season 1 of Carnivale last night. It was alright, but too little actually happens / is explained to make it great. Hope Season 2 improves on that. Short answer, yes. Long and poignant answer, you need to do two things: -First, have faith in the writers so you can start enjoying Carnivale as a period drama ala Mad Men instead of a mystery-crapfest like LOST and you'll find more richness in the show's offerings. It is not only the mysticism and surreality but also the period and characters which propel the show's brilliance. -Second, be patient in your faith and you'll be rewarded with fully setup and foreshadowed explanations--something those mystery-crapfest shows always dance around or retcon when cornered. This is one of few shows to ever truly have a plan--six seasons of show bible content despite only getting two. The first two season are intended as "book one" of three. And the first book provides satisfactory conclusions for most all presented mystery, meanwhile the few lingering questions and plotlines (gateways to plots of book 2&3) have concrete explanations posted online after the show's resurrection was deemed impossible. I'd give my left nut, make a deal with the devil, and vote republican to live in a world where Carivale got to finish it's fully plotted story. Although I'm a perfectly happy man living in a world where the first book was 'completed' (although rushed) and the broadstrokes of the later books made public. Carnivale is the best show ever cancelled.
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Jan 27, 2012 09:27
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Yea yea "opinions" and so forth. Even as a huge Terriers fan, Carnivale kabooms it out of the water. And The Shield is my favorite show of all time so my Shawn Ryan love is mad hammer time rabies infectious.
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Jan 27, 2012 09:50
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Jingleheimer posted:I agree with this, and I would do all those things and more to see Carnivale concluded as intended. The Wire is probably my favorite drama ever, but there isn't a doubt in my mind that Carnivale would have been my favorite if it had went all six seasons. True that, although we do have pretty similar tastes based on past threads. Just checked for the thread and it indeed got archived. drat shame. I never got around to posting in that thread but always followed the wonderful, detailed, image-based analysis of every episode as the thread did a re-watch, showing some of those absolutely beautiful and unrepresentable moments of surreal trauma along with the normal serene day to day life of the era. That's just one of those thread that should be perma salvaged for all mankind in the future.... you know, kinda like the most recent OZ thread that got posted here and archived. I think
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Jan 27, 2012 13:49
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Rentrent posted:I thought AMC was basic cable? Huh. Well, shows what I know I guess. It definitley is, and won a bunch of "basic cable" based awards. I figured that person was making a joke about one of the carriers that tried to refuse carrying the network over some price depute but I could be wrong.
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Jan 29, 2012 04:43
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Bown posted:Powered through both seasons of Boardwalk Empire over the past week or so. First season was drat good, albeit somewhat predictable when it came to the overall character arcs. Season 2, though, now THAT'S a season of television. Sometimes it gets a little obvious with the whole "look! this trivial line of dialogue has another meaning relating to the characters in some way!" thing, but it's drat well-shot and acted, the dialogue is tremendous, and it always pulls off the big scenes superbly. Also Michael Shannon is so good ungh Boardwalk Empire, despite only have 2 seasons, is already in my top 3 shows shows currently still in production. In a few years I can only hope this will be a widely popular sentiment. (The other 2 are Mad Men and Breaking Bad).
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Jun 18, 2012 10:47
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BRB MAKIN BACON posted:I just watched all 30 episodes of Dilbert (TV series) and I really enjoyed the experience. The character schticks are enjoyable and there are some cleverly written Adam Scott viewpoints woven into the story. Adam Scott is a very talented, genuinely funny actor. Scott Adams is a creationist, misogynistic cartoonist.
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Jul 24, 2012 11:54
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BGrifter posted:Just finished The Shield myself, pretty good show although a step below The Wire. It was a fun ride with a reasonably satisfying ending. What show isn't a step below The Wire? They're both really good shows with cops and that's exactly where the similarities and comparisons end. Also "reasonably satisfying" ending is the understatement of the year.
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Jul 26, 2012 10:36
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Mike Tysons CARFAX posted:I want to go run through The Sopranos but I'm kind of hesitant to do it. I started doing it last summer and I think I'm somewhere around the end of season 2. The only reason I'm hesitant to do it is because I don't really remember everything from Season 1 & 2 and to be honest I'm not sure if I want to rewatch those. I wouldn't worry too much about The Sopranos because it's not so reliant on the plot details as much as general character relations, and you won't have a lot to miss other than the rare mention/rarer appearance of a past characters. You're especially good on season three where the death of a major person* before they started filming required the show to do a huge revamp since they lost essentially the centerpiece of the third season. The third season isn't very well linked with a thematic or serial plot element, it exists more as a series of one-shot episodes. *(you'll figure out who pretty early into the third season since it was hard for them to cover up naturally) The Wire on the other hand.... It's so massive and multilayered with a lot of characters and their interactions being essential to the show. Season 3 especially plays on a lot of motivations created in the first season. Definitely rewatch the first two seasons. This is actually a plus because The Wire is a hell of a lot better the second time you watch it since you catch on quicker and see the show a lot deeper and more interconnected than an first viewing where you're just struggling for an "in" to the show--not knowing or remembering any of the faces.
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Jul 26, 2012 17:13
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Random, are there any plans to ever do a Band of Brothers: "North Africa"? That campaign is one of my favorite parts of WWII (that sounds wrong but you know what I mean). I've only the first two episodes of BoB so apologies if it's covered there.
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Aug 13, 2012 19:57
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Conduit for Sale! posted:Don't listen to this guy, seasons 1-4 of Lost are some pretty great tv. The internet echo chamber has turned 1 bad season of Lost, 1 iffy season and 4 good to great seasons into "HOLY poo poo LOST KILLED MY FAMILY AND poo poo IN MY MOUTH AAAAAAH." I'd say one terrible season of Lost did that (with or without the echo chamber) as the final one it was able to spit up everything as useless, simultaneously while introducing more awesome things and building them up to be entirely useless. gently caress season 6 was awful. Especially on the heels of Season 4 and (my far far favorite) Season 5 where you think the show is heading this totally awesome direction and completely free now from past show inhibitions and bogged down plotting mistakes and then.... THUMP. Also I want an Eko chamber.
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Aug 13, 2012 21:15
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I've only seen the pilot and I'm a little into the second episode, but is the point of Treme to show that everyone in New Orleans is a huge rear end in a top hat, and the hurricane was God smiting the city like Sodom and Gomorrah for its hubris? Although, because it's David Simon, God's wrath was like any institutional failure, and ended up killing off the good people and leaving a bigger concentration of assholes behind.
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Aug 14, 2012 01:29
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text posted:I've just binged through the first two seasons and I can only think of one 'major' character I dislike. They all have their flaws but I find myself hoping for the best for them (and the city). Except for one (who you won't have encountered yet). Finished the first season and most turned out pretty likeable, although I was exaggerating mostly for comedy that pilot still made out everyone to be pretty big jerks. Khandi Alexander's plotline was my favorite (but she's pretty great in everything) and I loved the story with her missing brother. Her lawyer ended up pretty awesome after a rocky first episode too and they fleshed her out, same with the husband, John Goodman, who turned out to my favorite character but thought it was a real dick move to have him off himself pretty needlessly. I saw it coming a few episodes prior because of how he was acting but still didn't like it and don't think the show earned it. I loving hated Steve Zahn most of the time which seemed very intentional although it looked like he might be turning himself around (a little) after his awesome neighbors helped him after he got punched out , but he's still kind of a dick (his "girlfriend" was always cool though). I like Clarke Peters' character a lot too, although he can get grumpy (especially with his son I like too) but he's grumpy in a good way. And obviously "Amsterdam" sucks, but I didn't expect him to suck as much after his did in his intro where he bitches out the Christian youth group rebuilding, but he actually got worse (the girlfriend got way better). Wendel Pierce is pretty interesting, though it's pretty funny when a new kid pops up every other episode. And somehow I watched the show, knowing all the actors well enough, but never picking up on a single character name. I almost learned Steve Zahn's character's name when it was listed on everything but tried typing "Steve Davis" and realized I forgot the first part.
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Aug 15, 2012 07:36
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Lycus posted:Yeah, the vast majority of the hate was directed at Season 6, and seemed mostly directed at one certain aspect of Season 6 (albeit one that they devoted a lot of time to). You'll know what I'm talking about when you get there. Two certain aspects, that one, and then another one that's not a spoiler--the cycle of introducing cool concepts and characters and then totally forgetting about them or writing them off an episode later. When that stuff happens between seasons it sort of understandable, but on an episode to episode basis it's really annoying and helps you develop a sense of show-nihilism "oh this new guy? who cares, he'll be gone in two scenes"
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Aug 15, 2012 08:39
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Greyish Orange posted:I just finished season one of the Sopranos, and although I want to keep watching it, I'm not really sure why. I'm struggling to be at all sympathetic towards most of the characters, especially Tony, but I feel like I should stick with it because it's so highly regarded. Nah, you're reading it right. They're almost all terrible people and that's part of the show. Embrace that and start laughing at them, not with them. It's a really great show, but at best you'll find yourself rooting for one psycho temporarily against another slightly worse psycho, or taking pleasure in characters making small personal advances (only to be cancelled out by some worse deed later).
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Oct 7, 2012 19:48
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I reluctantly started watching GO ON after a long while not wanting to because of its ability to usurp Community which was on the shitlist at its time of airing. There's a reason Go On caught flak for a lot of Community similarities early on, but those are definitely plus sides rather than it being any sort of rip off. It's a great style of humor that there needs to be more of. This show is pretty neat.
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Dec 27, 2012 03:53
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For anyone that didn't realize why The Shield has so much traction in the thread right now... it's all on Hulu Plus. Every loving episode! So if you've never seen it, why the gently caress are you reading this thread instead of watching it? GO GO GO GO! Don't have hulu? Get a free trial and marathon till your eyes bleed! As the first real basic cable drama way back in 2002, The Shield's pilot is pretty dated and tries to ride the edge of these stereotypical cop archetypes. And then something clicks. Still though, that first season is this battle trying to figure out what it wants and and can be a bit of a chore to watch for those of us TV snobs who usually wont touch something unless it's HBO caliber. Much like Justified many years later, that first season also leans really heavy on those MOW ("murder" of the week) plot lines ahead of the serialized element, but also like Justified the second season and beyond manage to strike the perfect cord of the real tense long con, constantly refreshed with these interweaving procedural elements that sometimes account to nothing more than a one-shot tale and at other times end up the rip cord leading to the next season's major arc. As a total loving "HBO, golden age TV only" whore, I say confidently The Shield is one of the best shows ever created from start to finish, and manages this incredible level of coming full circle on a lot of arcs and minor characters that otherwise would amount to nothing on most shows. This is especially true of comparable shows at the time before this type of television really took off. Even after it did, The Shield never has a stale season, or a plot too out there, or huge cast shuffles because x actor got a job in y movie. Unlike most of the other great television works being very deliberately slow and focused on litter human interaction, The Shield is a high intensity action-tethered show in the style of OZ and Breaking Bad. That's not to say it doesn't have it's fair share of social commentary, but primarily the deeper questions and themes offered come in the form of complex character study much like Breaking Bad. There's a good reason The Shield gets mentioned so often in the BB threads. I really could talk about this show for hours... gently caress I have before. I've written so much on these forums that I could publish my own journal on it. I've seen it far too many times, and watched the commentary tracks at least twice. The Shield thread is really good about spoilers usually, but anyone wanting to play it super safe feel free to PM me anything, questions, comments, whatever. TLDR? WATCH THIS poo poo.
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Dec 28, 2012 04:16
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Unlike most other mystery shows that end up blue balling because of winging it, Carnival also has an established show bible and series mythology that lays everything out on the table, even the stuff we never saw. There were about 6 seasons of planned material for the show and a lot of what would have been got made public after the shows demise as well.
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Dec 31, 2012 00:49
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The Wire and The Shield are both great (typically I refer to them as the best show and my favorite show, respectively), but if you go into either one expecting anything resembling the other... you're gonna have a bad time. You're not gonna like the answer, but you're watching the show wrong. The Wire is a show unlike any other that really tries to orient the viewer into how they should view it rather playing catch-up to them. But you are also not the first person who has made it all the way through the first season and still not really gotten the show. Same happened to me when it was airing, I gave it up and didn't try until some years after it ended. I don't think plowing forward is gonna do much because the show isn't going to change, you've got to adapt how you look at it before it will click. Maybe there are some people out there that kept at it and mid-show it all started coming together for them, but every success story I know has involved the person dropping the show for awhile and coming back after a month/year starting at the pilot again but with soft eyes.
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Mar 12, 2013 03:39
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The Shield isn't a procedural (or very typical). The first season just is more episodic like Justified, and it's also easily the worst season of the show, after which it really gets going.
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Mar 12, 2013 06:25
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CarlosTheDwarf posted:Worst theme music for any good show ever. The Shield slowly gets better and better. Each season is better than the last. If you get bored, skip to season 5. That season is pretty amazing and you won't really be lost. What? Dont skip anything. That's terrible advice, and the season will mean jack poo poo.
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Apr 16, 2013 22:37
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CarlosTheDwarf posted:Skip to season five instead of giving up was my advice. Yeah, that's terrible advice. If you're going to skip 4 SEASONS, then don't watch the show. That's totally destroying the experience, and season 5 will mean pretty much nothing instead of being incredibly powerful.
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Apr 17, 2013 02:30
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Yeah, if you've got the time it's worth it. I have a pretty negative opinion of LOST overall, but seasons 4 and 5 are really enjoyable. Maybe even more if you already know what's going to happen. Whenever I did a "background" rewatch last year I was kinda dismissive the whole time (rolling my eyes "oh lost you silly show") until at some point around then when I found myself fully engaged. Of course, I did switch back to half-assed eye rolls early on in Season 6 (which actually managed to seem even more erratic watching it all back to back) but it was still totally worth it.
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May 22, 2013 23:07
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Short answer, yes. At some point towards the end of the season, it should all click for you. I guess technically it does "get better" cause it's an upward slope to phenomenal with the second season. Internally I just don't wanna say "gets better" cause the first season is really great too, it's just harder to appreciate the first time you're watching it. FWIW, I think that Boardwalk Empire is easily the best show on television right now. It's a little bit Mad Men, a little Soprano (the showrunner Terrance Winters is Sopanos alumni like Matthew Weiner which helps explain the type of shows they've created). It slightly out edges Mad Men and Breaking Bad as my favorite show ongoing.
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May 25, 2013 03:52
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Regy Rusty posted:All together I think this may be my favorite Star Trek and I'm glad I saved it for last (aside from Enterprise which I'm not really planning on watching). I liked Voyager all right, but this is so much better so I see why people put down Voyager all the time, especially in comparison. Really good call. I really wished I had done that. Enterprise isn't too bad actually if you eventually find yourself wanting to see more. It's really fanservicey and mostly down the middle "eh" instead of being outright good or bad, but there are some arcs after they changed show-runners in the fourth season that will make you wish there had at least been a fifth season. But I watched it after Voyager so it was really refreshing, especially after that finale stretch of Voyager where I was forcing myself to finish and that finale, yuck. But yeah... following DS9 with enterprise probably has the opposite effect if you don't wait long enough for that DS9 high to wear-off.
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Dec 12, 2013 03:05
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Exploder posted:I just finished season 2 of Deadwood, and I am starting to get really bummed out that I only have one more season to go. Did this show just get terrible ratings or what? It is, without a doubt, one of the best shows I've ever seen. It's right up there with Breaking Bad, The Shield, and The Wire, in my opinion. It might make number 2 on my list if the third season is as good as the first two. Pretty much. HBO was still finding their footing when it came to excellent critically acclaimed shows that were expensive and had trouble finding an audience early on, so, like Rome and Carnivale, it got cancelled. IIRC, there was a change in leadership since then and they regret those decisions. Since then they've been a lot more focused on building their brand by making great television independent of nielson ratings, and now even support a lot of shows (Treme, Boardwalk Empire) with negotiated end dates so the creators get a chance to give their stories closure. The third season isn't nearly as good, but its still a great show.
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Mar 4, 2014 08:37
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